Dragon Con 2018 Kicks Off In Atlanta

Since 1987, Dragon Con, the internationally known pop culture, science fiction, fantasy, and gaming convention has been offering gaming, parties, a elaborate cosplay parade, and special celebrity guests. This year, Dragon Con is back with what organizers are calling it’s biggest ever with 85,000 geeks expected to flood downtown Atlanta for Labor Day weekend.

Attendees will also be able to participate in anniversary celebrations such as 80 years of Superman with Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Tom Welling (Smallville), and Michale Rosenbaum (Smallville), and 50 years of Sesame Street with Carrol Spinney, the Muppeteer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, plus human character actors Bob McGrath (Bob), Emilio Delgado (Luis), and Roscoe Orman (Gordon).

Dragon Con is one of the largest gaming conventions in the nation. It boasts more than 140,000 square feet of gaming, from video games to tabletop, in addition to American and Japanese arcade games. All gaming is free for Dragon Con members and will be available ’round the clock.

Get your geek flags ready to fly at the annual Dragon Con Parade on Saturday, September 1st at 10am. This event is free to the general public and will feature approximately 3,200 Dragon Con attendees showing off their best cosplay. This year’s parade marshals are Emilio Delgado (Luis), Bob McGrath (Bob) and Roscoe Orman (Gordon) from Sesame Street. The parade will be broadcast live on Atlanta’s CW69 and rebroadcast in prime time.

But Dragon Con isn’t just about nerding out and having fun. They also do their part to give back to the community. The convention plans to raise money through auctions and a dollar-for-dollar match up to $100,000 for their official 2018 charity is Atlanta-based Literacy Action, Inc. It also conducts the largest convention-based blood drive in the nation, the annual Robert A. Heinlein “Pay It Forward” blood drive. It benefits LifeSouth, which serves more than 40 hospitals in the Atlanta area and 110 hospitals in the Southeast. That’s pretty damn awesome.

Can’t make it out to Atlanta this weekend? Have no fear! You can still get your geek on thanks to a full event coverage live stream. You can purchase your streaming membership via DragonConTV for $30, or $10 if you bought a single day convention pass. Plus, you can donate directly to Dragon Con’s 2018 charity, Literacy Action, Inc., through their website.

Bella Luna

A riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a sparkly sweater. Or something like that. She designs websites, runs social media, interviews people, writes posts, hosts shows, and loves cheese. Plus, she shares her home with a rescued pup named Leia who's super cute. Find her on social media @xo_bellaluna.